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Thursday, July 09, 2009

Today gave me some of the best of Newfrontiers, which is just as well because England's bowlers failed to do exactly that.

I was provoked to think about how my local church can impact the locality for the Gospel that combines actions, care for the poor and proclaiming the Gospel

I was privileged to see again the humble, kingdom heart of Terry Virgo as he declared that he didn't care about Newfrontiers as much as he cared about the advance of the kingdom.

It was great to spend time with a brother from Ukraine. Pastor Igor is a friend and it's a great joy to serve him and partner with him for the Gospel. It reminds me I'm part of something much bigger

I listened to a pastor from Armenia call us to pray that his church could reach the youth of his nation. His great fear is that the more westernised Armenia becomes the more materialistic the young people become and the harder it is to reach them for Jesus and do anything useful with them afterwards. A damning indictment of western values. The more they become like us the harder it is to become like Jesus. Ouch.

4000 people praying noisily for Africa, India, Japan and many other nations. Just great.

Evan Rogers knows how to make the place jump. I've not seen any worship leader get Brits to worship with as much dancing and fun as he manages.

Stu Gibbs gave the best exhortation and challenge to give that I've heard in a long time. No fear, no compromise. A generation free from materialism and consumerism that genuinely sells its possessions to give to the poor. I doubled my gift. It helped me remind me that not every gift should be budgeted.

My wallet was graciously connected to new church plants, training leaders and caring for the poor. Rightly so.

I can't wait to see the total unveiled tomorrow. £1 million for sure but how much more?